Jack Renkens, a former high school coach, administrator, teacher and a regular contributor for several newspapers and magazines, founded Recruiting Realities, which explores the myths and truth’s of high school athletic recruiting.
Diamond Bar High school invited Renkens to speak to student athletes and parents interested in knowing more about the recruiting process on Thursday at the school, which is open to anyone interested in attending. Renkens is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Diamond Bar athletic director Kurt Davies at (909) 594-1405 Ext. 154

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Waiting for the final whistle can be an excruciating feeling, especially in soccer where officials add injury time at their own discretion. On the other hand, it can be a blessing too, especially for the Sierra Vista High School girls soccer team, whose only goals came in the final seconds of injury time to close out each half.
That was the difference for the Dons, who salvaged a 2-2 tie against host La Puente after 80 minutes and two ten-minute overtimes to remain in first place in the Montview League while improving their league unbeaten streak to 19. (To continue, click thread).

Eric Sondheimer wrote that Bill Redell of Westlake Village Oaks Christian has tied the Southern Section record for most championships won by a football coach with eight. Redell is tied with late coach Randall Johnson from Rio Hondo Prep who won eight eight-man titles and Harry Welch, who won eight championships at Canyon Country Canyon and San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s. If eight championships is the standard, you have to like the coaching resume’s in our little backyard. Los Altos legend Dwayne DeSpain is the area leader with seven titles, but there are several current coaches who have a chance to reach DeSpain and maybe reach eight before their careers are finished. Of our active coaches, who has the best chance to finish with the most championships. Personally, when all is said and done, I like Maggiore’s chances to finish with the most, he’s the youngest and in the best situation in terms of enrollment and football demographics. But you wonder, if West Covina keeps winning, how long before neighboring schools send them out of the area to compete for titles.

Above:Bishop Amat coach Richard Wiard has a big non-league game on Saturday in the SoCal Shootout at APU against top-ranked Bonita. Wiard didn’t win multiple state titles by accident. On Friday, he was at Bonita scouting their game against Walnut. Now, who scouts non-league games in January? Wiard does. Preparation, that’s what separates Wiard from the rest. Knowing this, I still like Bonita, think they’re too talented and have been waiting for this opportunity a long time.

Tribune Rankings
Boys Hoops1. Damien (15-1) – Facing undefeated Mission Viejo on Saturday at APU2. La Verne Lutheran (8-3) — Good record against a powerful schedule with Price in town on Saturday3. Glendora (14-4) – Impressive overall record, but might be third or fourth best in Baseline.4. Chino Hills (14-4) – Sorry Huskies, this is Damien’s year to take the Sierra.5. Bonita (12-3) — Rowland, Walnut, Diamond Bar are all tough in Hacienda, but ‘Cats are still the team to beat.6. Ayala (12-5) — Are they a team Damien should worry about? They meet on Friday.7. Bishop Amat (14-5) — No significant wins on resume, but they keep on winning and could be a factor in the Division 4AA playoffs.8. Northview (17-3) – Getting better each week and in the same playoff Division with Amat, wouldn’t mind seeing them meet up down the road.9. Rowland (13-5) — Boom Boom Hamlow’s best team in years, though a stinging loss to Diamond Bar hurts.10. Mountain View (14-3) – They haven’t played a tough schedule, but overall record is best of the rest.

Girls Hoops
1. Bonita (15-1) – Love the scheduling with a non-league game against Bishop Amat on Saturday in the SoCal Shootout at APU. Prediction: Cat’s by 10.2. Bishop Amat (15-3) – In our neck of the woods, Amat not use to being No. 2. They can prove we’re wrong on Saturday.3. Duarte (13-1) — Not only do they have size and are beating everyone in front, they’re young and only going to get better.4. Diamond Ranch (7-8) — Tough schedule, bad record. Look, you know it, I know it, they’re better than this.5. Chino Hills (11-6) — If they’re the best in the Sierra, how do you explain a 26-point nonleague loss to Bishop Amat?6. Walnut (11-6) – Lori Huckler’s crew not use to losing league game, but that happens in a league with Diamond Ranch and Bonita. Welcome to the Hacienda.7. Wilson (12-6) — Would love to see them win the Valle Vista for late coach Ed Bruyninckx, who passed away before the season started.8. Sierra Vista (10-3) — They don’t like being No. 2 in the Montview, but they better get use to it with Duarte on a roll.9. West Covina (10-6) — You have to feel for the Dogs who will probably do no better than fourth-best in the brutal Hacienda.10. Baldwin Park (13-3) — Although they lost a tough game to Wilson, off to best start in years.

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Among all of Duarte High School girls basketball standout Imari Brown’s gaudy stats, there’s only one that really matters to the sophomore: assists. She’s got plenty of them, too, an average of 10.1 per game. But Brown’s assists are just one part of a dynamic stats package that includes 17.4 points, 15.2 rebounds and 8.2 steals per game.
“I’d really rather have more assists than points because I like to see my team do well,” Brown said. “Without my team, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I can’t inbound the ball to myself. I can’t pass it to myself. My team has really helped me a lot.”

The Scouting Guru has been all over the San Gabriel Valley and beyond, and like always, he’s offered to share his thoughts, free of charge. Don’t hate, enjoy it for what it’s worth, which is one man’s opinion on the talent in the San Gabriel Valley.

The Guru Writes: Tuesday marks the first day that college coaches can get back on the road and start recruiting. There are two purposes of the visits these days — they are looking for any players that have fallen through the cracks and see if there is any interest from the player to their school and to start work for the class of 2012 and 2013.

So here is the latest update from our some of the area schools in the valley. If you don’t see your favorite school on here, don’t worry – I’ll have it for you next week. (To continue click thread).

For those of you who are Tribune subscribers, you have to take a look at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune’s E Edition, which allows you to sort through stories online like a regular newspaper. For those not subscribers, you can take a free tour. Basically, you’re looking at the newspaper just the way it is on the stands. To read a story, just lick on the story and read it the way it appears in the newspaper. After clicking on (View Demo), for sports, start on page C-1 (you will find the cursor near the top of the page) and thumb through (all sports pages in Cs), you will love it. Why is this huge for prep sports? Not only can you read stories, but you can read daily high school boxscores online just how they appear in the paper. Without a subscription, prep boxscores are not available online. In fact all sports boxscores can be easily read on the E Edition, including television listings and horse racing handicaps and results. For folks who live out of the area, this is like having your hometown paper wherever you live in the world. If you’re not a subscriber, this is another reason to join. For 50 cents a day, it’s still the greatest bargain there is.

I know I have been telling you that we were going to publish the TribXtra All-Area Football Magazine on Jan. 20, but that date was pushed back a week, so hopefully (crossing my fingers) this is the last time I have to update a change. Sorry for long delay, but I think you will the final product when it comes out.

San Dimas Coach Bill Zernickow said that Allen Brown, the Saints’ 6-foot-4, 270-pound offensive lineman has accepted a full ride to Fresno State and that receiver Kevin Kolbeck has two trips to make before deciding his future.

By Fred J. Robledo
It took a moment for Bonita High School senior Madison Zylstra to figure it out, but once she saw her cousin Carly Horine walking on the floor after draining a three-pointer with 4:40 left until half against visiting Walnut, it all registered. Officials called timeout after Zylstra moved ahead of Horine to become the school’s all-time leading scorer, and she didn’t stop there, finishing with a game-high 23 points to lead the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A’s top-ranked Bearcats to a 65-37 victory over the Mustangs. Zylstra’s 1,300 career points moved her ahead of Horine’s 1,284, which she set in 2006.
“I wasn’t expecting anything like this at all,” Zylstra said of the in-game ceremony. “But when I saw my family and Carly, it was great. It was great having my cousin out there with me, and the way we played tonight, I couldn’t of been prouder.”
Zylstra’s averaging a team-leading 17 points on a team that seemingly has everything after the addition of freshman point guard Nikki Wheatley, giving the Bearcats’ two great ballhandlers along with senior Taylor Anderson, heading to Loyola Marymount.(To continue click thread).Continue reading →

By John Honell, Correspondent
“It’s all for Ed,” said first-year Wilson High School girls basketball coach Tracy Calton, speaking about dedicating this season to longtime Wildcats coach Ed Bruyninckx, who died suddenly last summer. The Wildcats (12-6, 4-0) started slowly but dominated the second half Friday to knock off Baldwin Park 51-27 and take over sole possession of first place in the Valle Vista League.

Plenty of boys hoops on the schedule with the marquee game Damien at Chino Hills, which is where the Inland Insider will be for video interviews and highlights. Clay Fowler also will be there to cover the game. BTW, I like Damien, and don’t think it will be that close. In any case, Steve Ramirez is covering Nogales at Northview in a key Valle Vista encounter and I will cover Walnut at Bonita girls hoops at 5 p.m. This is my opportunity to see the No. 1 team in Division 3A do their thing against an always steady Walnut squad. John Honell will cover another girls game for us, which is for first place in the Valle Vista League, Wilson at Baldwin Park, which starts at 5 p.m. I will update as many scores as I can late tonight.

By Steve Ramirez, Staff Writer
The CIF State wrestling championships are less than two months away, but who will stand out at the annual meet might begin to become clear today when some of the top athletes from California and beyond compete in the two-day Five Counties Invitational at Fountain Valley High School. The tournament, which begins today with preliminary matches at 11 a.m. and concludes with final-round bouts at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, traditionally is a barometer for the state meet. The Valley is expected to be strongly represented, with Northview’s Gilbert Nakatani at 112 pounds and Rosemead’s Matt Fregoso at 130 among the favorites. (To continue, click thread).

Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Bishop Amat High School’s girls basketball team was leaving nothing to chance in its Del Rey League opener on Thursday against visiting St. Paul.
The Lancers, who shared last year’s league title with Bishop Montgomery and Serra, figure this year’s race is going to be just as tight and erupted in the first quarter for an early double-digit lead en route to a 67-34 win over the Swordsmen.
“I read what (Glendora boys basketball) coach Mike LeDuc said the other day after his team beat Los Osos,” Amat coach Richard Wiard said. “He said ‘If you want to win a league title, you’d better win the home opener. Otherwise, you’re going to be in trouble.’
“We did that and the other three teams in our league are all very good. They’re all ranked either No. 1 or 2 in their CIF divisions, so it’s going to be a challenge.
Amat improved to 15-3 overall and 1-0 in league. St. Paul is now in a big hole considering Thursday was its second league loss (15-5, 0-2).The Swordsmen get a week off to regroup before they play Bishop Montgomery.

Do league races in basketball really matter? Since teams in the same league often play in different divisions in the playoffs, all that really matters is where you’re ranked in your playoff division, not where you end up in league, right? Look at boys basketball, Glendora might finish third, maybe fourth in the Baseline, but they’re ranked No. 2 in Division 2A, which is all the Tartans need to pay attention to. Chino Hills, for example, might win the Sierra League, but they’re only No. 10 in the ridiculous Division 1AA, where Mater Dei, Etiwanda, Corona Centennial, Upland and others reside. Damien and Bonita might both win their leagues, but they’re in a tougher position than Glendora, ranked fourth and fifth respectively in Division 3A, where Crespi, Harvard-Westlake and Inglewood occupy the top three spots. Bishop Amat hasn’t done that great against top area teams, but they’re No. 8 in Division 4AA. Even La Verne Lutheran’s not a lock this year, they’re up from Division 5A to 3AA, where they’re No. 3 behind Price and Palm Springs. So, interestingly enough, Glendora who everyone knows got the short end by being sent to the Baseline, is in the best position of all when it comes to the playoffs.

By Aram Tolegian Staff Writer
Think the celebration is over for the West Covina High School football team following its CIF-Southern Section Southeast Division championship won on Dec. 10? Think again.
The Bulldogs and their fans still were in party mode on Monday when the City of West Covina honored the champs with a ceremony in a courtyard at City Hall. West Covina mayor Steve Herfert spoke to the crowd before Bulldogs coach Mike Maggiore called to the stage his team and announced each player by name in attendance.
“We have a tremendous support group in West Covina,” Maggiore said. “It’s the only high school in the city. The city council has been great with us. “The community has been great. I’m extremely proud of our guys and this is another way that we can recognize them.” (To continue, click thread)

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